From 1810 to 1893 Hawaii was an independent kingdom.
In 1794 the British navigator, George Vancouver, presented a British flag
to the warrior chief,
Kamehameha. Kamehameha flew it for twenty-two years.
It was during these years that he founded the kingdom and designed a flag
of its own. This flag was first used in 1816. The combination of the
stripes of the United States flag and the Union Jack of Great Britain is
said to have pleased the shippers of both nations. The eight stripes represent
the eight main islands.